Page 51 of Bewitching the Dragon
The entire room had gone quiet. Did they all know about Argyle and Becca’s relationship?
“Ohh, this is good,” Delilah said as she shoveled popcorn from the bowl she was holding into her mouth.
Yeah, looked like they knew. Great. Not exactly how she would have liked this little reunion to play out.
“Do you want to go outside?” Rahu asked Becca.
She shook her head. “It’s fine. Hello, Argyle.”
She didn’t call him Dad.
“You have a great deal of questions,” Argyle said.
Becca nodded.
Argyle glanced around the room. “Should we go somewhere more private?”
“Quit trying to cut us out of the conversation,” Delilah called out.
Becca rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. They’ll all find out eventually anyway. Or did they all already know?”
Argyle shook his head. “Only Pacey and I knew.”
Becca’s gaze slid to her aunt. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you let me believe my father was dead? For that matter, why did you let me believe that man was my father in the first place? Why couldn’t I know that I’m—oh my God, I forgot that I’m part gargoyle.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth. “Ohmigod, I was planning to dress you up in baby clothes!”
Argyle winced. Someone else snickered. Probably Delilah.
Becca swung around to Rahu. He shrugged. She knew it didn’t matter to him. He loved her no matter what.
“Can I shift?” She moved her gaze to Argyle. “Can I turn into a gargoyle? Not a stone statue—God, I’m so sick of those things—but an actual, flying gargoyle?”
“Yes,” Argyle said.
Becca swung back around to Rahu. “We can fly together!”
He laughed. “That’s cool, although you riding on my back certainly wasn’t a hardship.”
He grinned while she felt her face heat.
“Okay, so you’re going to have to teach me how to shift. But first, let’s get back to the whys.” She focused her attention on Pacey, who glanced at Argyle.
“It was all my doing,” Argyle said.
“But you knew,” Becca said to her aunt.
Pacey nodded. “I did, but I was in no position to make decisions regarding your protection. I was mourning my sister’s death and terrified that they were coming for you. When Argyle blocked your memories and created the wards around my house and taught me how to do that concealment spell—”
“Good work on that, by the way,” Delilah piped up.
“—it was a relief to let someone else be in charge of everything,” Pacey finished.
“So who was that guy I thought was my dad? Is he still alive? Did he know he wasn’t my dad?”
“Yes, he’s still alive,” Argyle said. “We erased his memory so he would not recognize you if the two of you crossed paths. He is human and is living a comfortable life out in Washington State. He is happy. Married a widow with two children he is raising as his own.”
Rahu hated that the man had no idea that he’d already been a father once in his life.
